It's been a long time coming, but finally, following the critically lauded 2010 'Broken Leg Sessions' EP comes this debut long-player from ex Dharma Bum front man JOHNNY POWELL, now operating at the forefront of his new outfit THE BIG SAD FACE OF INFINITY as part of a lineup that also features Paul Mill (Stans Magic Foot, The Lord) and Ian Hinton-Smith (Alfie, The Beep Seals, Badly Drawn Boy).
Finger-picked acoustic guitar provides a bitter-sweet backdrop for Powell's haunting, high-pitched vocal power as it gathers momentum during 'A Predictable Folk Song With An Unpredictable Purpose'; this before the six-minute opener slowly but surely unravels off the back of the first of many smouldering guitar licks. It's thanks to the huge intervention of this shock electric sound that the track ends up fuzzed out, faded and distorted beautifully into apathetic submission before the story is allowed to resume.
Somehow, this sets a precedent for the record as a whole. Narrative verses, 'spoken word' vocals, historical odes and perspectives, a dash of fairytale fantasy and Powell's penchant for ballads all help to ensure that 'The Difficulties Of....' shares enough of folk music's key characteristics for it to qualify essentially as such.
However, there is just as much about this record that goes markedly against that grain – so much so that the album's open-ended title could be a reference to the many ways in which it stubbornly defies categorisation.
Either way, this uneasy clash of the conventional with the unexpected provides an effective mirror for the fragile friction between Powell's decidedly spiritual outlook and the relentless consumerism of the modern world.
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The dual guitar approach is a recurring phenomenon: feedback drenches the eccentric 'A Supernatural Carnival Of Demons', with even Powell's fractious vocals swamped with distortion as the track pulls in and out of focus.
Physiological introspection gives oddball yet literal meaning to 'I'm So Sick', whilst the harmonic music box melodic beauty of 'We Stayed Out All Night' gets underway with the faint clap of thunder.
The considered tempo enhances the already striking vulnerability, inviting you to really listen (and you'll really need to, to make sense of this less than straightforward record).
Though rather abstract, 'The Difficulties Of...' is nevertheless well worth the effort. Awash with subtle, melancholic charm and real introspective beauty throughout, for all that it makes you think, this is a record that ultimately comes straight from the heart.
Listen to Johnny Powell at Bandcamp
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